| The RERAF facility is an advanced system for conducting genetic, physiological, biogeochemical and ecological experiments. It is possible to perform fully integrated ecophysiological experiments with microorganisms, herbaceous plants and trees, where climatic conditions, water consumption, CO2 assimilation and exchange of nutrients and xenobiotics, as well as metabolic gases, can be controlled and monitored continuously or over short time intervals. The unique design of RERAF also makes it possible to conduct environmental assessments of plant production with transgenic crop plants and microorganisms.
Biological interactions between different plant species, symbiotic relations between plants and microorganisms, and the effects of plant pathogens and herbivore insects can be studied. The facility is also well suited for experiments, which can form the basis for development and validation of models on plant populations, plant communities and ecosystems.
The experiments performed in RERAF under controlled conditions can be linked to similar experimental studies performed under semi-controlled conditions in the open top chambers (OTC) at Risø National Laboratory and under natural conditions in the field. In the hierarchy of scale in ecological experiments, RERAF covers all levels from detailed and strongly controlled cell studies in laboratory experiments to the widely pertubating environmental conditions at the ecosystem level. In this way RERAF is a unique tool for simulation of natural environmental conditions and for development and validation of predictive models.
Hierarchy of scale in ecological experimentation approaches
| Research approach |
Level of
organization |
Degree of
reality |
Variables |
Reproduc-
ibility |
Time
period |
Laboratory experiments
(microcosms, plants in pots) |
Cell /
organism |
Low |
Few |
High |
Short |
Growth chambers, OTC
(mesocosms, ecosystem
compartments) |
Organism
/population |
Medium |
Some |
Medium |
Medium |
Whole ecosystem
manipulations (interactions
between
plant/soil/atmosphere) |
Ecosystem |
High |
Many |
Low |
Long |
RERAF,
models |
Cell to
ecosystem |
Low to
high |
Few to
many |
Low to
high |
Short
to long |
Research Fields
The experimental projects in RERAF cover mainly the following three research fields:
- Gene plant biotechnology, transgene plants and plant pathogens
- Biogeochemical cycling and soil processes
- Global change and effects of air pollution
Ecophysiological measurements on oil seed rape. Large picture.
Projects that make optimal use of the RERAF facility are given priority, e.g. experiments with transgene organisms, exposure of biological systems to hazardous chemicals, balance studies with the need to account for all inputs and outputs of materials and organisms, enrichment studies which would be too expensive under natural conditions, those needing replication under identical conditions, and those needing a complete growth season in a short period of time. The research in RERAF is most often collaboration projects with national and international partners. The unique research and laboratory facilities in RERAF have already attracted international scientists and research teams. In the future, it will also be possible for public authorities and private companies to have investigations performed on a commercial basis. |